Stocks Edge Higher as Banks Rise
NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. stocks are mostly rising Wednesday morning as banks rise in tandem with interest rates. Energy companies are also climbing while technology companies take small losses after they finished at record highs over the last few days. Electric car maker Tesla is gaining after confirming its production targets for the Model 3 sedan.
KEEPING SCORE: The S&P 500 index added 2 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,750 as of 10:12 a.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 109 points, or 0.4 percent, to 24,909. The Nasdaq composite lost 4 points, or 0.1 percent, to 7,633. The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks gained 1 point, or 0.1 percent, to 1,665.
Most of the stocks on the New York Stock Exchange were trading higher. The S&P has risen for the last three days, while the Nasdaq and Russell are at all-time highs.
FEELING WISE: Athenahealth, a medical billing software company, climbed after it said it is exploring a possible sale. The company also said CEO Jonathan Bush resigned effective immediately. Investor Elliott Management recently offered about $6.5 billion to take Athenahealth private and said it had grown frustrated with the company's performance. Athenahealth also named former GE CEO Jeff Immelt as its new chairman. The stock advanced 4.2 percent to $157.56.
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PUT IT IN DRIVE: Electric car maker Tesla rose after Chairman and CEO Elon Musk repeated his view that the company will reach its production targets for the Model 3 sedan. The Model 3 is Tesla's attempt to reach the mass market, and Tesla will need to more than double its recent production rates to meet Musk's target of making 5,000 cars a week. He says that will happen in the second half of the year.
Tesla shareholders also rejected a proposal to overhaul the board of directors and strip Musk of his role as chairman. The stock gained 4.6 percent to $304.52.
BONDS: Bond prices slipped. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.96 percent from 2.93 percent. JPMorgan Chase climbed 1.4 percent to $109.35 and Bank of America gained 1.4 percent to $29.53.
TRADE: Mexico announced duties of 15 to 25 percent on imports from the United States including pork, steel tubes and bourbon in response to President Trump's decision last week to impose tariffs on their steel and aluminum shipments. The government said it would waive tariffs on pork from other countries to ensure adequate supplies. Canada has also said it's planning steel and aluminum tariffs that will take effect July 1, and the European Union is expected to announce its own response to the U.S. tariffs in the coming weeks.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude fell 0.2 percent to $65.41 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, added slipped 0.4 percent to $75.05 per barrel in London.
CURRENCY: The dollar rose to 109.92 yen from 109.76 yen. The euro rose to $1.1782 from $1.1715.
OVERSEAS: The DAX in Germany fell 0.3 percent and France's CAC 40 lost 0.6 percent. In Britain, the FTSE 100 index was little changed. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 rose 0.4 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.4 percent. South Korean markets were closed for a holiday.
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